Silence is the Loudest Cry
by MarionTheEvilLibrarian
Summary: Set right after the Avengers. Loki is tried, sentenced, and put into prison though nothing is as it seems. Loki hasn't been acting himself and Thor thinks he can help but Loki won't accpet it. The Mage an old teacher of Loki's suspects the Chitauri but is Loki in need of real help or is he just playing them all into the palm of him hand - again? T for Loki whump
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello! For all of you who have read my other story (Secret File) I do apologize that I am being very lazy with the updates. The ideas are very annoying and seem to be dithering between cooperating and staying aggravatingly beyond my mental grasp. For the gap between updates I do apologize. So I have decided to start a few new stories. **

**Reviews would be lovely and I will try to address all questions directed towards me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story… **

**Looking Back…**

_At the trial_

Loki was knelt on the ground in front of the throne. He refused to look at anyone in the room; from his brother who had brought him there, to his mother who just wanted to make sure he was ok, to his father looking down upon him guiltily thinking he had caused Loki to go mad. The council sat along the sides of the throne room and looked on at Loki with hate and distrust. Sif and the Warriors Three stood next to the thrones trying to stay impassive as Loki was judged.

"Loki Odinson," Odin All-Father said as he stood up. He looked unbelievably sad. He looked grief-stricken, guilt-ridden, and slightly betrayed. The deepened lines in his face gave away how much this situation was actually tearing him apart. Not that it mattered – Loki still refused to look at anyone or anything but his knees. His hands were roughly chained behind his back and the metal gag around his mouth denied him the ability to speak his mind.

"Loki," Odin began again, "for your crimes committed against Midgard, Jotunheim, and Asgard, the council has thought long and hard on what would be a suitable punishment for one such as you."

_Would father mercy him at all? _Thor wondered worriedly as Odin seemed to hesitate upon actually announcing the punishment. He cast his gaze at Loki once more and flinched inwardly as he again took in his appearance. After their return to Asgard Loki had been confined to his chambers until the Trial would be held and he was denied any contact from family, friends, or healers. Throughout the whole ordeal on Midgard he had looked thinner than usual, his features more gaunt and daunting looking than before his fall. He now looked like a starved wolf looking for anything – any escape. His clothes hung on him as if he were a stick figure and there were dark rings under his eyes displaying his inability – or was it a simple refusal? – to sleep. His wounds from the battle on Midgard had not been healed and all-in-all he looked as though Hel had come and gone already.

"You are to be imprisoned in the deepest cell under highest security in a prison outside of the city. You will be away from other citizens and forbidden from any form of contact from anyone other than Frigga, Thor, and myself," Odin sentenced Loki with a voice that sounded completely confident as to assure the council that no other punishment was necessary but his heart was heavy and Thor could see it in his eyes.

The carelessness with which the sentence was given was read incorrectly by Loki, though, and he took it as an affirmation of the imagined hate Odin had for him. He didn't make a noise though and finally deigned Thor with his gaze. Thor had seen this look before: it was the deceptive calm. The moment before the ice broke, before the bomb exploded, before Loki punished whoever had humiliated him. Thor had seen it many a time when Loki was pulling a prank but when Loki wore that face now, Thor was worried. What was Loki thinking now?

Two guards hauled Loki to his feet and started escorting him out of the throne room to the prison which would be Loki's home for an undeterminable amount of time.

_1 week later_

Thor paced around his bedchambers nervously. This would be the first time Thor visited Loki during his incarceration and he was worried: would Loki talk to him? He desperately wanted to know _why _Loki had done it and he wasn't going to leave without an answer.

As he started out of the palace he caught sight of his mother sitting in her garden under a tree. She was holding something to her chest and looked despairingly at the ground. Thor walked over to his mother and sat down beside her. Frigga looked up and smiled at him. "Thor," she greeted him.

"Mother, I'm going to see Loki today. Have you visited him yet?" Thor asked with his usual lack of tact.

Frigga clasped the object tighter to her chest and nodded. The object was a small, intricately carved box with a spell winding itself around the edge, sealing it closed.

Noting her reaction he quickly backpedaled and thought of a way to comfort his beloved mother. He reached an arm around her shoulders and gently hugged her, but he still had to know, "How did he seem to you?"

Frigga let her hair drift over her shoulder to slightly obscure her face and took a strengthening breath. She was a strong woman and was not about to let this break her. She brushed her hair away, wiped her eye where a tear had dared to form and looked at her oldest son, "He's changed, Thor. Something happened to him after he fell." She paused as the tear formed itself again and fell down her face, "I so desperately want him back, Thor."

Thor thought about this: something had happened to Loki when he fell… so what could that something be? He, too, had noticed a change when he saw Loki on Midgard and now that someone else mentioned it he was sure something had happened – something Loki wasn't letting on about. "I'll talk to him, mother," Thor said as he stood up.

Frigga looked up at him with tears in her eyes at the thought of losing Loki and nodded his leave.

**M'kay! Sounded like a lovely resting place to me, so I shall update again probably tomorrow because I have most of the day to myself tomorrow until rehearsal which isn't till nighttime so all will be well and the tale shall continue! **

**Please do comment and leave your thoughts, questions, concerns, and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism!**

**-~*~-The Phantom-~*~- **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story accept for the plot…**

**Author Note: M'kay, sorry if the weird point of view thing-er is squee-ing you all out, but it must be done… Ok, I don't know if you agree with me but I feel like there was something left to be desired with that last chapter so hopefully this one will be better! Enjoy!**

Thor stood outside of the prison walls wondering just what he thought he was going to say to Loki once he got here. Loki had been constantly pushing Thor away and claiming they weren't brothers but Thor would _not _Loki keep thinking like that. He understood that Loki believed that everyone hated him because of his heritage but he couldn't understand why Loki refused to see that they loved him. They _loved _him – and always would, no matter what.

What hurt Thor the most was not the destruction Loki had wrought upon Midgard, the insulting words Loki had thrown at him, or even his threats against Jane. What hurt the most was when he realized the significance of Loki letting go of Gungir, Odin's staff, on the bifrost that day so long ago. It meant that Loki, his beloved brother who was so blind to the love given to him, had chosen death over his life in Asgard.

Thor blinked furiously at the tears forming in his eyes. He paced back and forth in front of the prison, unwilling to go in yet. He had to figure this out. He had to understand what was so terrible about Loki's life that the void of the black hole, that death, was preferable to life with his family. Loki had said he was tired of living in Thor's shadow. He had said that he never _really _wanted to be king. He said he wanted to be equal.

_Was Loki ever considered my equal? _Thor thought. Being the first child he never thought about it. Surely Loki was ridiculed constantly for his fighting style – magic and throwing daggers – but he was certainly formidable in his own regard. His magic was extremely powerful and as he grew he outgrew each teacher as he became more and more powerful. _But he was still looked down upon by everyone. _Thor realized despairingly. For all Loki's power he was still looked down upon because he was too different.

Did anyone ever appreciate Loki's power? Thor knew that he most certainly didn't. He had been jealous because Loki could do something he couldn't. He knew he mocked him for his choice of fighting. He knew his friends, the warriors three, laughed at him also. He knew Sif thought it was pathetic. But maybe Loki wasn't looking for approval from his peers. Maybe he was looking for approval from Odin. That _had_ to be it!

Thor started towards the prison with renewed vigor to correct Loki's assumption that Odin didn't approve of him but something stopped him short: _did _Odin approve of Loki's magic? He never allowed Loki to use his magic during his sparring practice. He only got Loki teachers of magic after many a week of asking and whining on Loki's part. And even then he was very grudging.

_No, _Thor thought forcefully. Odin loved Loki. He wouldn't have taken him from Jotunheim if he hadn't.

Thor shook his head and tried to force all thoughts of that away. He was here to…to… He didn't really know why he was here. He wanted to comfort Loki. He wanted to reprimand Loki. He wanted to assure him he was loved. He wanted answers.

Finally he couldn't avoid it any longer and told a guard to take him to Loki. The guard nodded and led him down five flights of stairs. It was very cold and dank down here and the torches bracketed to the walls became few and far between the farther they went down. At the bottom of the fifth flight of stairs the guard stopped and said, "Down the hallway and to the left there are four guards. State who you are, your business, and for All-father's sake do not let any of them near the prince's cell." With that the guard left Thor standing in the semi-darkness alone wondering why the guards weren't willing to go near Loki's cell.

He walked down the narrow corridor and finally came to better lit hall branching off at the end. Just as promised there were four guards all of whom stood stock straight, stiff, and even nervous looking. "I'm here to see Prince Loki," Thor said to no one in particular. He wasn't really sure who he should address.

There was a tense pause and one finally motioned for Thor to follow him father down the hall. At the end of the hall there was one door heavily locked. "Are there any other prisoners on this floor?" Thor inquired curiously. He hadn't seen any other doors on this whole subterranean level.

"No, sir,"

The guard started unlocking the door and as soon as the door was cracked open Thor started to hear something. It…sounded as if… he wasn't sure was it sounded like. Every once in a while the strange sound was punctuated with a frustrated growl obviously coming from Loki. "What is that?" Thor asked as the door scraped open. The second Thor spoke the sound stopped and everything was eerily quiet.

Thor looked at the guard and noticed that he had frozen to the spot. "It's the Prince. He never sleeps. We don't think he touches his food. All he ever does is pace," the guard said in a rushed whisper that seemed to spill out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"Er, I have the way from here," Thor said as he looked at the guard again. He was obviously not moving any closer. The guard nodded his thanks and handed Thor his torch. He started closing the door as soon as Thor was through.

Thor shook his head at the guards fear and started forward without any of his own. It was another hallway with absolutely no light except for the one in his hand. It was narrow and only about forty paces deep until he saw the bars of the cell. It was completely dark and he couldn't see Loki, though he knew he was there.

"Loki…" he started, hoping Loki would show himself.

Thor should have known Loki would show himself: he was never one to disappoint. "What can I do for the to-be-king of Asgard?" Loki said with a dark chuckle of amusement.

Thor didn't know how he would have originally answered that because he was too caught up in Loki's appearance. If he thought Loki looked bad on the day of the trial he looked a lot worse now. Compared to how Loki looked now he had looked like the picture of health at the trial. He was so pale from lack of light and thin that he looked like a specter. His eyes were…mad. "Loki…" Thor tried starting again but couldn't continue.

Loki leaned against the bars and gripped them with skeletal hands. "Come to bask in my downfall, have you?" Loki asked with a glint in his eye stuck halfway between hatred and amusement.

"Loki, why?" Thor finally choked out. He couldn't bear the look of his brother like this. He couldn't handle how nonchalant he was being when, in his eyes, he could see he was burning.

Loki grinned lazily and winked at Thor before slowly walking back into the darkness of the cell. "Because I could," came the answer.

Thor's breath came out in an angry puff of white, a testament to how cold it was down there. "Loki, that's not really why. Tell me, Loki. Can't you just tell me now?" Thor didn't like not being able to see Loki. When he couldn't see him it felt as if Loki wasn't really there. He felt as if he were the one in the cell.

If Thor was looking for an answer Loki didn't seem inclined to give him any anymore. "Loki, Loki I really just want to help. What happened? What happened when you fell? How did you even meet the Chitauri?"

"Falling takes a long time…" whispered Loki, still unseen.

Thor latched onto this answer, "Loki let me help you! Mother wants to help you! Father wants to help! How can you not see this?"

"NO ONE CAN HELP ME!" Loki yelled. He was suddenly up against the bars again and Thor took an involuntary step backwards. Again, he felt like the one in the cell. Loki looked tortured. He looked too powerful in righteous anger that it looked as if, at any moment, he would walk out of the prison and burn Asgard down with his red hot fury.

"Loki. I. Will. Help. You." Thor stated as he quickly walked away. He needed an audience with Odin.

**M'kay! So another chapter down! Hurrah! If Loki seemed a little insane to you it's because he kind of is… So… yeah… Um, well, I know exactly what I want to happen in this story but if something random happens I don't mean to do it on purpose some stories just kind of write themselves in one respect that they don't always listen to the writer.**

**Reviews would be lovely, thank you. Questions, concerns, comments, and constructive criticism is all gladly accepted. Speak your mind!**

***~*-^The Phantom^-*~***


	3. Chapter 3

**Author note: M'kay whoever is commenting (a guest) this is my reply to you: Ehehehe, yeah, sometimes the world likes to laugh in my face and stomp on my poor little dreams… *grins* it's ok though, I get instant satisfaction when I can post my stories right away this way – so, life! **

**So this chapter is gonna be a tad funky because, again, I know what I want to happen but there's so much that needs to happen I might have to have time go by and weird spaces and things like that so, bear with me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it *pouty face***

Thor walked into the throne room with a whole speech prepared in his head about how he thought that Loki really, really, very desperately needed some help. Something wasn't right and he didn't know what it was and that wasn't sitting right with Thor. After Loki had fallen (or was it technically 'jumped off'?) the bifrost and Thor had found him alive on Midgard Thor had vowed that he would protect Loki at every turn and so far he wasn't doing too hot.

So, one would imagine, Thor looked a little ridiculous standing silently with his mouth wide open ready to deliver said speech only to be stopped in his tracks with the sight of Odin and 'The Mage' deep in discussion. The Mage was an old magician who was very powerful and had been the last teacher of Loki's before Loki had started teaching himself. The Mage lived deep in the woods outside of Asgard as far away from people as he could be because he knew that people just didn't understand the magic and would ridicule him as much as they did Loki.

"Yes, Thor?" Odin rumbled.

Luckily this snapped Thor out of his position. He cleared his throat and said, "Father…Have you…visited Loki yet?" He was beating around the bush and he knew it but he just couldn't say it outright. It was like Loki's pride of always being in control of himself had rubbed off on Thor and now Thor didn't want to let others know that Loki was slipping.

Odin sighed and leaned back in the throne, "Yes, that is why I have called in the Mage," Odin said as he gestured towards the Mage. Odin was quick and had obviously seen the differences in Loki also.

"What did you notice during your visit, Prince Thor?" The Mage asked in his rough voice. It was low and hollow sounding from its lack of use. His hair was as white as Odin's but despite his age he stood tall. He gripped a carved staff in front of him with both hands and looked curiously at Thor. "Please, don't withhold anything, remember: I was Loki's teacher for a long time. I know him just as well as you do."

"Well," Thor began as he walked closer to the pair. "He wasn't healthy. At all. But he didn't seem to mind. It was as if he were willingly starving himself and depriving himself of sleep. As we all know Loki doesn't eat that much in the first place but he would never do that to himself. You yourself, Mage, had taught him that his body was his sanctuary. He wouldn't do that to himself." It all had poured out of him before he realized and Thor stood there looking at his feet desperately hoping Loki really _wasn't _doing this to himself on purpose. Desperately hoping that Loki _wasn't _trying to starve himself to death.

Odin nodded in agreement and the Mage started pacing furiously. "I need more than this, All-Father," he said while he stopped and started tapping his staff impatiently. Thor could see thoughts and questions fly across the Mage's eyes as fast as light. He was a lot like Loki. Or was it that Loki was a lot like the Mage? "I need to know what is happening when he thinks he's not being observed."

Odin nodded again, "Bring a guard," he called to the guards outside of the hall.

^.^ ^.^ ^.^ ^.^ ^.^

(Kind of Odin's POV)

Odin watched as Thor fidgeted all around the throne room waiting for the guard. He would go from sitting on the stairs near Odin's feet to pacing furiously to and from the entrance and back again.

The Mage had told Odin that just asking for an oral report from the guard wouldn't suffice so he would just have to enter the guard's memories to see for himself. Odin had agreed as long as the Mage would project the memories to him as well. Odin could very well do it himself but he was near the Odin-sleep again and didn't want to use the energy.

Finally after four hours of waiting and fidgeting on their end and four hours of breakneck speed horseback riding on the guard's part the guard entered the hall. "Your Majesty," the guard said as he knelt down in front of the throne with his right fist over his heart in a sign of respect.

"Rise," Odin said calmly. He had to look very calm about the whole ordeal because very few people liked the idea of others in their minds and most even found it repulsive. Odin knew he could easily order the man's compliance but he really didn't like to have to order his subjects loyalty. This was one reason he was so loved by his people. "We need a full report on Prince Loki and his doings during his incarceration."

"Of course," The guard thought for a moment and opened his mouth to speak again before the Mage interrupted him.

"If you would be so willing it would be easier if I could just access the memories myself. If it would so help you, though, we can put you into a sleep so you won't have to witness it." The gentle jab at the guard's abilities was enough to make the man agree and not have to be put under. The Mage knew just how to play the guard into his hand just as Loki would have. "If you would sit down, then," the Mage said with a smile.

The Mage put one hand on the man's forehead and the other over his heart, not quite touching – just hovering. In the space in between a small persimmon glow appeared, revealing the Mage's magic. Seconds later the memories were projected to Odin as well.

_The hall was completely dark except for the torch in his hands which he held in front of himself to make sure he didn't trip on any of the slightly uneven stones. He would walk down the hall to the cell every so often just to see the Prince and then he would pace back down the hall. No matter where he stood in the hall he could hear the fallen Prince's movements and mutterings. _

_The Prince paced back and forth throughout the cell without ceasing, continuously muttering broken sentences and shouts. _

"_Go…go…go away…!" the guard heard him say during one pass. The pacing never stopped. _

_All through the night the pacing never stopped even as the guard started slowing tiredly. _

"_I'm no use to you dead, am I?" he heard the Prince yell suddenly. Suddenly choking sounds and dreadful sounds of pain emanated from the Princes cell. _

_The guard sprinted towards the cell to find the Prince lying on his side curled in on himself clutching his head with blood forming eerie crescents under his nails. _

"_Prince?" _

_The prince jumped up with a terrible look in his eyes and hands forming fists at his sides. He slammed against the bars and snatched at the guards neck, catching his collar and pulling him close with angry force. _

_What happened next scared the guard more than the wails of pain, more than the deceptive strength in the skeletal limbs. The Prince pulled the guard close enough that his lips were brushing his ear and he whispered, "Just kill me now."_

_The guard jerked away and started backing down the hallway. The Prince's face was illuminated in the light of his torch and all he could see was the dirt smeared with tears that poured down his face in desperation. The Prince started reaching for him and screaming with wide eyes, "PLEEAASEEE!" _

A new memory flooded Odin's senses before he could even react to the first…

_The guards were all now stationed outside of the hall containing the Prince's cell but even then someone had to go and give the Prince his meals. _

_The guard walked down the hall and brought the food and picked up the other tray of food still untouched just like every tray before it. Not a single piece of food missing._

_Later the guard was rushing down the hall after the continuous shrieks of pain started up. He found the Prince on his cot – asleep. He was tossing and turning and looked as if he were trying to ward something off of him. This was the first time the Prince had slept since they got there._

Odin was suddenly aware of his surroundings again and he looked up to see that the guard had indeed collapsed and the Mage was pacing around the room and spastic persimmon sparks jumped off his fingers as he thought.

"Mage?" Odin called.

**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! My version of a cliff hanger! Ok, so…as stated before I know exactly what's wrong with Loki and I feel like a vicious villain by not telling you guys yet – though some of you have probably guessed by now. Isn't this fun? This chapter was uber fun to write partly because it was basically writing itself and I was sitting there going, "Oh my Odin! Oh my Odin! What's he gonna do next?" So Loki is being pretty creepy o.O So what do you think: is he faking it all so he can escape or is something really wrong?**

**~ The Phantom ~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note 1: If you gave a comment worthy of answer check for an answer at the bottom!**

**Author Note 2: M'kay, so I was sitting there for, like, ages – no joke! – before I thought about how to present this chapter…So basically I wanted to explore what the heck was going on with Loki and since "The Mage" is the one actually figuring out is wrong with Loki I decided to write this portion of the story kinda, sorta from the Mage's POV… Kind of, m'kay? Warning: if you read this and go, "What the actual heck?" I feel the same way…**

**Disclaimer: I **_**still **_**don't own anything *sobs***

The Mage paced around the throne room ceaselessly – well, almost ceaselessly. During one revolution he had accidentally ran right into the heap of misery that was the guard, cursed him, and called the other guards to carry him away all the while assuring everyone that no medical assistance would be required.

What was going on in that confusing, brilliant, and broken mind of his old (and favorite) students'? He hadn't been his favorite just because he was the Prince. He was his favorite because unlike many others he actually really wanted to know. In fact, he more than just wanted to know: he wanted to do. And when he couldn't _do_ he would work hours on end until he could _do. _During the end of Loki's years with the Mage he had even started making his own spells. He had started weaving spells without words, spells used without having to speak or move. All of this the Mage could do but what had finally pushed him to making the decision that he had taught all he knew was when Loki had taught himself to shapeshift.

This was also when the Mage had figured out why Loki was so spectacular with magic. Because magic was basically just knowing how to speak to the universe and how to sweet talk it into just _being _the way the magician wanted it. Anyone would theoretically be able to do it. Well, if they could open their minds enough to hear the universe, which, the Mage had to admit, was very difficult. To open your mind enough you had to forget your body – which was hard seeing as all magicians were taught that their bodies were their second best sanctuary. Your mind was always the first sanctuary. Magicians didn't go into other people's minds lightly because, whether they knew it or not, it was wrong to have others in your absolute last sanctuary. Loki, at such a young age, had easily slipped out of his body into other forms with his mind completely sharp and still intact. The reason he was so good at this was because Loki's real power was his voice. His magic. His mind. To him, his body was just a _thing. _Many a magician had never shape-shifted because they relied on their body too much. To be a truly great magician was to give up the body for the mind. A hard task indeed. The Mage himself had never shape-shifted.

So how had the sharp, precise mind gotten so tarnished? According to the memories the reports that he hadn't eaten a single thing hadn't been exaggerated in the least. The reports that he rarely slept and when he did he had screaming, convulsive nightmares had apparently not been exaggerated either. It had appeared that he had been talking to himself. Arguing about staying alive when it appeared that he was the only one keeping himself from being healthy.

That's how it would appear to the general populous.

To the Mage it appeared that Loki was being possessed. Almost. Not quite. The Mage shook his head angrily at the uncertainty of the situation. He had yet to respond to Odin when he had asked what he thought because… well, because…because he _didn't know. _

"Mage?" Odin All-Father asked.

The Mage shook his head, made another lap of pacing and looked up at the All-Father, "Loki… has been in the presence of other magic users. Am I correct?"

"It is not known to me if the Chitauri can use magic but they might have some higher being that is controlling them that can," Odin said as his thoughts, too, ran down the same thought path.

Both the Mage and Odin had completely forgotten Thor's presence and his general ignorance in matters such as magic and the like so when he asked, "What is it that is wrong?" They both jumped slightly and turned towards the boy. Really, how they had forgotten he was there was a mystery; the boy had such an imposing presence.

"It appears that your brother's mind is being violated," the Mage said.

"He's being controlled?" Prince Thor exclaimed.

"Not quite being controlled, Prince… More like, hmm, influenced. It is obvious that the connection to his mind is not complete but it is obviously having painful effects on him," the Mage said, half muttering.

Suddenly a second thought entered the Mages mind: Loki was as good as a mental copy of himself. What he meant was that Loki was like him. If he were in the situation Loki was in he would be looking for a way to escape. His magic was cut off to him and was being stored in a little box carved with incantations and he didn't have the physical strength to overwhelm the guards so how else would he get out? With his words and actions. If that was the case, and Loki was faking all of this to get a chance at escape, the Mage had to admit he admired the ingenuity of the plan.

But he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk Loki really being influenced and consequently killed, or worse.

Well, maybe he could. Loki was a genius. A master of deceit, Prince of Lies, Silver-Tongue, Lies-smith – this could easily be a play on their sympathies. After all: Loki's body was just a _thing _to him. "Odin, how high do you suppose is the possibility that this is a play on our emotions?" the Mage asked as gently as he could. It would be hard to tell how Odin would react to this. He could be bloody mad or he could see that that was a huge possibility.

Odin seemed stuck halfway between a bloody explosion and understanding. A look of apprehension flitted across his features, "Could you examine him?"

The Mage shook his head, "I know Loki and how he thinks. If this is a trick he needs to be brought out of the prison before he can make his move. What's more, if this is some kind of horrible connection to Loki's mind I don't even know if I could break it. Lots of those kinds of things can only be broken once the person who forged the connection breaks it or dies. Sometimes even death doesn't work in the case of those entities which can just reincarnate themselves."

Odin nodded and resumed his seat on the throne as the Mage thought about what could be done. Suddenly Thor showed how bright he actually could be, "Couldn't you examine him just as easily in the prison as anywhere else?"

**Ehehehehe, m'kay sorry about not actually to getting to any Loki action but this had to be done. I promise. It's good for you. Kind of like broccoli. But we all know that that's a lie. Those evil green baby trees can't actually be healthy. They just like to tell us it is and then laugh as we choke it down… Anyways, I digress. The point is that I do appreciate all the reviews and stuff!**

**Here's to Ilike2watchboyskiss**** : HAHAHAHAHA!**** That's awesome and I do appreciate it. As said before people sometimes like to spite me so, hence no comments…**

**Here's to Myrthniegh****: Thank you for agreeing with me that that is an acceptable cliffhanger and all that jazz! Thanks for the comment!**

**Here's to ****ParanoidSchizo91****: I am so evil and I know it. I still haven't really given a definitive answer to whether he's faking it or not and I feel like a ginormous bully! Mwahahahahaha!**

**O.o The Phantom o.O**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note 1: M'kay if you left any comments check the bottom author note to see if I left a note? M'kay?**

**Author Note 2: M'kay: wasn't that great? I gave Thor a light bulb moment! So, as you'll find out, there will be some Loki and maybe even some intense Loki feels in this chapter! Finally, right!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything and a lot of this I'm even making up… so… yeah…**

Loki sat staring numbly at the tray of food that had been slid into his cell. He figured it had to be a lunch. How long had he been here, suffering? Haw many lunches had passed? How many times should've he flopped into his bed for another nights' rest?

Rest: that one thing that had been escaping him since…he didn't remember. He so desperately wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep so badly he lay and daydreamed about sleeping. He could never quite reach the sweet bliss of sleep, though. He was always caught. Always stopped. Eventually – and this had happened already – his body would not be able to physically take it anymore and he would collapse. A god's body could take abuse quite well. It could be sleep deprived for quite a long time – just not this long. A god's body could go without proper nourishment for a long time, too – just not this long.

Loki groaned and let himself fall to his side. He didn't have any energy anymore. None. He couldn't move. Breathing had been getting harder and harder and just keeping his eyes open to stave off the pictures in his mind became more and more impossible. He no longer had the energy to pace. He had stopped arguing with them. He let them – he couldn't stop them, he had figured that much out.

The whisperings in his mind grew more and more quiet and Loki wondered idly if he was dying. Was he? Should he be worried about that? Loki wasn't trying to be morbid with that thought but really; should he be worried that he was on the verge of death? His existence as of now and probably for the rest of eternity could be summed up in two words: exhausted pain. He would live the rest of his life in this stupid cell with his magic locked away in a pathetic box probably locked away deep in the bowels of the vaults underneath Asgard. He would live in misery, pain. The only voices he would ever hear were the ones that wormed themselves into his mind and caused him to be this way. He was done.

Loki had been angry at first. He was angry when he had realized he was Jotunn and betrayed that he had never been told. He was disappointed when Thor didn't try harder to save him. He wanted revenge when he found the Chitauri. He was lonely when he realized that by turning Thor away he had _no one else. _Now, after the whole ordeal was done, he didn't feel anything. Now he just existed. He was resisting Thor because it was expected. He lied because that's who he was. He acted like he felt hate towards everyone because that's what people who have been wronged felt. He didn't feel it. He was empty. He just did what was expected.

So maybe that was it! Maybe, as the last act of rebellion, Loki would do what wasn't expected: he would cease his miserable existence. Of course there was always the chance that he would be reincarnated but even if that did happen no one would know that he was Loki.

Unfortunately there was nothing with which to kill himself in this cell. He couldn't even make himself eat the food, much less choke on it.

Well, he could try. He reached a hand toward the tray of food and stopped short as he caught sight of his hand.

In the light cast by the lone torch that had been left for him he didn't see his hand: he saw a skeleton. Not like a really, really thin hand that he knew to be there but a skeleton's hand. He watched as it started turning black and flaking off. It traveled up his arm and soon he couldn't keep his composure anymore. In the deepest recesses of his mind he knew that it was just another allusion but the rest of his mind screamed louder than that little tiny, itty bitty rational mind that was left. He looked up his arm and all he saw was blacked bone breaking away and he screamed. He screamed and clawed at the skeletal limb and pushed himself into the corner with his arm held out in front of him. He screamed and begged. He didn't need to be dignified anymore – he didn't even care. "Please! Please, stop! PLEASE!" he shouted.

"_Have you had enough of this pointless imprisonment yet, you worthless worm?" _asked the disgustingly gravelly voice of the 'Other'. The Other was like the commander of the Chitauri and he was the one who had forged the connection with his mind causing him these painful allusions. Causing him to taste and feel things that weren't there which consequently didn't allow him to eat or sleep. Every time he reached for a piece of food he saw something dreadfully disgusting or poisonous. When he got past the allusion his mind would be tricked into thinking that he had just put something alive and quite dangerous in his mouth causing him to spit it out and start dry heaving. There was nothing to get rid of in his stomach anymore, though.

Loki refused to answer that stupid voice. He knew his resistance would just bring him more pain but he really couldn't bring himself to care anymore. _"My offer still stands you miserable fail of a god," _the Other continued when it was made clear that Loki wasn't going to respond.

He was applying a rather interesting technique here, Loki though. First insult him in every possible and then ask him to join forces with him. Seems legit.

"I would never –" Loki began in his most venomous voice he could muster in his weakened state but suddenly he heard the door down the hall scrape open. It wasn't time for another meal yet. What was going on?

At that moment, as Loki was trying to see who was coming to visit him the Other – in his anger – started attacking what was left of Loki's sanity with full force. Loki screamed and the last thing he saw was a strange persimmon glow…

**M'kay, sorry! Bad ending is bad… Anyways I would also like to apologize for totally just having a random Loki soliloquy chapter! I thought I was actually going to get some Mage action in there but then I felt like I had to explain Loki and all his feels… so, again I do apologize.**

**Here's to fan girl 666****: Yeah I totally made him up, just so that's clear XD Isn't he great?**

**Here's to ****Moonacre91****: Ok, thanks for the comment! Just wanted to say that I love the movie "Secret of Moonacre!"**

**~~*Phantom*~~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: M'kay thanks for sticking with me, so far, guys! It's greatly appreciated! If you commented check the bottom author note to see if I felt the need to comment back! Also, check the bottom note for a question I have to ask all of you…**

**Disclaimer: Despite my ninja minions best efforts I still don't own anything…at all…*I'm greatly disappointed in the minions***

The Mage looked down at his old student who was curled up on the floor of his cell with a grimace of pain on his face even in unconsciousness. The guards had been about to go and check on Loki just as the Mage arrived. They had said he had been screaming for the past few hours and seemed more agitated than ever.

The Mage was standing alone, now, in the hall with a glowing ball of his magic to give a better light than the torches ever would. The cell was only about 8 ft by 8ft and there was a small cot pushed to the very back corner of the cell. Loki, himself, was not on the cot for some reason or another and instead had started writhing on the ground and clutching his head.

Soon Odin All-Father and Prince Thor would be here and the Mage wanted to make sure Loki wasn't faking this all. Truthfully he and Loki were very similar and it was what the Mage would do to escape.

The Mage teleported himself through the bars, into the cell so that he was kneeling in front of Loki, "Wake up, Silver-tongue," he said as he shook his shoulder.

Loki's eyes snapped open and he scrambled away from the Mage. He tried standing up to get as far away as possible but his frailty made him stumble and he had to catch himself on the cot. "What do you want, gammel lærer*?" Loki asked without ever looking at the Mage.

"Tell me, Prince, when are you leaving?" The Mage asked as he stood and folded his hands behind his back.

Loki barked out a laugh, "As soon as possible, lærer."

"How long is your sentence here?"

"It was undetermined," Loki said with some bitterness. There was a strange glow to his eyes and he had yet to look at the Mage. His skin looked spectral and his eyes were sunken. The Mage could count each and every one of his ribs through the flimsy shirt.

"What is it that is troubling you, elev*?"

"_Nothing," _Loki hissed trying to back even further into the corner.

"Would you mind if I took a look?" The Mage asked as he walked innocently forward.

"_NO!" _he yelled.

Odin and Thor chose that moment to walk through the doors at the end of the hall. How very inconvenient of them. The Mage teleported himself back to the other side of the bars and had to cut the connection he had been sustaining between their minds. Usually Loki would have sensed it right away but now…either he knew it was there and actually wanted help or he was so far gone he didn't even notice. He stood regarding his old student. He wasn't trying to escape. Well, he was, just not from here. He was trying to escape himself, it seemed. It appeared that he was trying to…well, kill himself.

"Loki!" Thor exclaimed when he saw him awake. "What happened to you arm, brother? Who did this to you?" He asked upon noticing the long, bloody scratches that ran up and down his whole arm.

Loki looked down at his arm and then up at Thor. His mouth suddenly twisted into a sick smile and he lined up his fingers with the scratch marks. "Loki!" Odin exclaimed. He cleared his throat and turned to the Mage, "What do you think?"

"We can bring him to the palace." The Mage then turned and walked back down the hall. 

**M'kay. I'm am so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for posting such a baby broccoli chapter! I'm really bus today and there won't be any posts this weekend because I'll be playing in a tourney so, life… Yeah, so sorry.**

**So here's my question: what do you think? Should I keep posting this length of chapters (the average not counting this one is around 1,500 words) each day or should I go around every other day and stuff and go for longer chapters? Comment or I'll decide for you guys!**

**Here's to: ****coleypane****: because as stated in previous chapters I have a warped and twisted mind…. MWAAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**T.H.E. P.H.A.N.T.O.M.**  
_PS: THE STARS ARE NORWEIGEN! _


	7. Chapter 7

**Alrighty then! M'kay. So let the chapter begin: I do hope you all enjoy it… Sorry for making you guys wait all weekend – if it's any consolation I was stuck in a hotel with a small pool and my team didn't win the tourney therefore making it a complete waste of my time…sorry XD**

**If you left a comment check the bottom for a reply, as always! Disclaimer: My ninja minions are currently being fired as they have failed and I still don't own **_**anything. **_

Thor, the big oaf, had insisted that he be the one to escort Loki to the throne room and to be presented to his step-father – the traitor. Loki had thought he himself was a master of lies, well apparently that wasn't all. Not just did he speak lies – he lived a lie, all his life. He was surrounded by lies. He was told lies, he was convinced of these lies, and he spoke lies over and over until they became the truth to him. He prided himself in always being able to tell the difference between fact from fiction but it appeared that the true lies-smith of the family was not he, but Odin All-Father himself. How very poetic: raised on lies, lived by lies.

And then the Mage had deigned him with his presence, too. How very generous of him to come and visit him in his time of imprisonment. He had always thought that if there was ever anyone he could trust, it would be the Mage. They had seen into each others' minds. They knew each other better than anyone else in the universe and yet Loki, so accustomed to subconsciously accepting comforting lies, had believed that the Mage would stand by him – no matter what. He had seen what the Mage was really like. He knew how he thought, how his brain functioned. He knew that he now over powered the Mage in the magical sense – well; not right now seeing as his magic was still being stored in that wretched box.

Not that it mattered. Soon he would be able to finally end this pointless, vicious cycle of hate making him slowly die mentally anyway. He was lied to, he would lie, he would be punished, and he would lash out. He was lied to, he would lie, he would be punished, and he would lash out – again and again.

"Are you ready, brother?" Thor asked. Loki hadn't noticed but he was leaning heavily on Thor but as soon as he tried to take more of his own weight again he remembered why. He swayed dangerously to his side and if Thor wasn't already practically carrying him he would have crashed into the floor already.

"Don't," Loki hissed, venomously. Thor took the warning and didn't say anything but the look of concern and overwhelming pity washing over his face said it all anyway and Loki tried again to push away from his adoptive brother. This time Thor wasn't close enough and Loki crashed clumsily against the wall for support.

Loki absently noticed how Thor winced when he came into contact with the wall and said, "I won't break, you big oaf." But now it was getting exceedingly difficult to stay standing (mostly by himself), be excessively rude to Thor, and not cry out in pain that every grating breath caused his raw throat. His muscles cried for mercy after being refused nourishment for so long, staying in one position for ages, and now being used mercilessly. The scratches on his arm were raw and most likely getting infected the very minute. He looked down on himself to see what Thor was so worried about and was stuck between satisfied that he was so close to his goal or disgusted that the illusion of a skeleton was no longer necessary. His bones were all rather prominent and he imagined that he did look as if he would, indeed, just break at any moment.

"Please, brother, can we go?" Thor pleaded. It was interesting how very naïve Thor was to assume that a simple meeting with the Mage would make him repent and change his ways.

"So be it," Loki hissed as he took a strengthening breath and took all of his weight onto himself and plastered his best sneer on his face and motioned for Thor to push open the doors.

The Mage watched as the doors opened and the two princes of Asgard both entered. Thor was hovering very near to Loki to make sure he didn't collapse on the spot and Loki was glaring vehemently into the room but still managing not to glare at anyone in particular.

Two soldiers, immediately after Loki's entrance, had grabbed Loki and forced him to his knees. Thor growled something and reached forward just as a sharp crack emanated throughout the hall and the Mage's gaze locked on Loki's face. His face broke into an expression of intense pain and he cried out but it was all wiped off of his face as he slid into unconsciousness.

Well, then.

Thor immediately threw off the guards and lifted Loki's head to look at him but when he saw Loki's ashen face he instantly thought the worst and called for Menglad, the head healer of Asgard.

Menglad hastily ran over and checked for a pulse, "He is alive, Thor, but he cannot answer any questions as of now." Menglad was firm in his decision and took Loki instantly to the medical wing, forbidding the Mage's entrance in case he tried questioning him.

"Father," Thor said as soon as Menglad and his helpers had left, "Why?"

The All-Father shook his head, "What do you think, Mage?"

"It's obvious something has invaded his mind but even now, in his brain-addled state he has strong wards around his mind and I couldn't see much. Only his most prominent thought _at the time _was what I could see and…" The Mage paused. Was he really the one that wanted to tell the Kind and Prince that their brother and son's most prominent thought was of death? Well, that's not exactly how Loki had been thinking about it. He wasn't really thinking of it as death but more as an escape or a second chance. But saying that could very possibly be worse. Did he want to tell them that their own brother and son's most prominent thought was of escape from his life? Certainly not.

"And…?" Thor prompted. He certainly was a very impatient person when it came to his brother and his wellbeing.

"And, well, when you think to yourself you don't exactly think in words. It's impressions and feelings and images. Sometimes it's hard to…put the thoughts into words to perfectly explain what one is thinking," the Mage paused again and thought about how he should go about this. He could very well steer clear of the question and just move on to another topic he felt he needed to look at but Thor was very adamant with wanting the answer.

There really wasn't any way to just tell them what he was feeling and fully express how much Loki thought it was their fault. How much Loki thought it was his own felt. How much Loki thought the Mage was to blame. _He blamed everyone. _Thor suddenly asked, "Couldn't you just _show _us?" Well, gee. Now he really couldn't withhold the information anymore. Thor really did have moments of lucid, intelligent thought it appeared.

"I…yes," The Mage motioned for Thor and Odin to sit and the Mage started projecting the last thoughts he had felt from Loki.

When he was done Odin looked stricken and Thor had turned his face away. "Loki," was all Thor said. It was possibly the most heartbroken word the Mage had ever heard.

**Phew! All done! Whoa was that dramatic, or what? Major Loki, Thor, and Odin feels so sorry if that many feels was weird all in one chapter. Ehehe. **

**Here's to Moonacre91****: sorry for killing you! I hope this revived you a tad. I would hate to have to go to court for that. It's very annoying and takes a lot of time… Thanks for the review!**

**Here's to ****fan girl 666****: sweet, thanks! Thanks for the review!**

**I Am the Phantom  
****  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author Note: Remember to check the bottom if you left a lovely review for me!**

**Disclaimer: With how things are going now, I will never own anything. Ever. Also, I would like to point out that I am completely making 73% of this up. No joke. The Mage is of my mind. Menglad is made up… My theory of magic I heard from someone else, so… ehehe enjoy ;) PS the foreign language is Norwegian. **

*"_Dypt i engen, etter willlow, _

_En seng av gress, en myk grønn pute _

_Legg ned hodet, og lukker søvnige øynene _

_Og når du våkner, vil solen stige…" _

Loki was dimly aware of a soft hand carding gently through his hair. He _hurt._

"_Her er det trygt, og her er det varmt _

_Her Daisies beskytte deg fra alle skade _

_Her dine drømmer er søte og i morgen bringer dem sanne _

_Her er stedet hvor jeg elsker deg…"_

The voice singing to him was very familiar and made him feel…nostalgic.

"_Dypt i engen, gjemt langt borte _

_En kappe av løv, en Moonbeam ray _

_Glem woes og la problemene dine lå _

_Og når igjen er det morgen, vil de vaske bort…"_

Loki shifted. He was waking up now and everything was coming back to him. He didn't want to leave this, though. Here it was quiet, comforting.

"_Her er det trygt, og her er det varmt _

_Her Daisies beskytte deg fra alle skade _

_Her dine drømmer er søte og i morgen bringer dem sanne _

_Her er stedet hvor jeg elsker deg. _

_Her er stedet hvor jeg elsker..."_

The voice slowly ended its melody and Loki grimaced inwardly. He knew anything as good as laying in the nether between sleep and wakefulness like that would never last. His eyes felt heavy and his eyelashes felt like they were stuck together. He didn't want to get up. He was aware of what happened – of what was happening. But he knew he couldn't stay like this forever.

Loki took a strengthening breath and shifted his head to look at the person comforting him who was, of course, dear Frigga.

"Loki!" Frigga exclaimed. She leaned forward to get a hug but decided against it at the last second. "How are you feeling?"

Loki was ready to give some flippant remark but stopped himself: this was Frigga. She was the one who had stayed true to him. She was the one who had tried the very hardest to understand. So, instead of being his usual rude or sarcastic he actually took stock of himself before answering. He was starving and was as dry as a desert. His left knee felt like Thor had stomped on it and his left arm _burned. _"I…" he looked down at himself and flinched.

"Would you like something to eat?" Frigga asked smoothly. Right now he was literally skin and bones.

He would love to but honestly he didn't think he could. And besides, he was trying to _not _eat anyway. So he simply shook his head, "Water?" He croaked.

Frigga nodded and brought a cup from a nearby table. Loki wondered idly if the Other would let him drink. "Here," Frigga said gently.

Loki really just wanted something to drink, though, so he closed his eyes so he wouldn't even have to see it. Loki took a sip and it didn't change into anything. It was amazing! He took another greedy gulp but suddenly it was boiling in his mouth and down his throat and he choked. He just wanted a drink but apparently not.

"Loki!" Frigga exclaimed. Something clattered to the floor and Frigga was helping Loki sit up and patting his back so he could breathe. As soon as Loki had settled down again and had leaned back against the bed Frigga said, "You still can't eat or drink anything? Even when you were unconscious you wouldn't take anything. Half the time you would wake up delirious and choking on it. Loki, tell me what is wrong."

Loki knew that tone. That was the, 'you better tell me or so help me,' voice. Once, Thor had lied about where he had been all afternoon when they were younger and Frigga took mjolnir away for a week. Or else _that. Or worse. _That had been when they were young.

"Mother, I can't –"

"Loki!" Thor yelled from the doorway.

"We'll talk later," Frigga said with a gentle threatening tone in her voice. She leaned down to pick up what had clattered to the floor and swiftly walked away as Thor took her spot.

O0O0O0O0O0

Thor bowed to his mother as she passed with the small box with magic carvings on it to her chest. She nodded her head in acknowledgment and walked out with her usual grace.

Thor turned his gaze to his brother and felt like he could weep. He had been right when he had thought that Loki found the void more appealing than his life here. It was true then and it appeared that it was still true now. "Brother…"

Loki glared stiffly at Thor and roughly pushed himself into a sitting position. He cringed when he jostled his cracked knee and a hiss of pain escaped his lips. If anything the pain made Loki's hateful expression more severe.

"Brother, tell me how I have wronged you," Thor said. He couldn't shake the memory that the Mage had shared with them. Besides the main feeling of wanting the 'escape' there was also multiple underlying feelings of…guilt and hate, or loneliness and fear. He was feeling immense hate towards _everyone_. Not just Thor, not just Odin. Loki hated _everyone_ – including himself. Thor hoped the guilt was because of all the destruction he had caused but knowing Loki it also could be guilt that he hadn't succeeded in those endeavors to rule earth.

As for the fear and loneliness Thor had no idea where that came from. From what the Mage had said Loki wasn't faking his…madness just to escape which could imply that someone was indeed inside of Loki's mind which could account for the fear. But the loneliness? How could Loki feel lonely? He was practically the center of attention for everyone on Asgard as well as Midgard and probably had a fair amount of attention in Jotunheim, too. And –

Loki chuckled darkly, breaking Thor out of his reverie and he looked at Loki hoping for some concrete answers for once. Everything Loki said had always been like smoke, a mist – impossible to catch. Incapable of being held. "How have you wronged me?" Loki asked slightly mockingly. "Thor, you never paid me enough mind throughout our whole lives unless I did something as drastic as jumping off the bifrost." Loki laughed louder this time. The longer he talked the more…unhinged he sounded.

"Loki, I –"

"NO, Thor! Just, go. Menglad'll fix me up, Mage will question me, and I'll be thrown back in my cell so I can't bother anyone ever again and you can continue your wonderful life without having to pretend to want to visit me. Just, go," Loki said. He had started out yelling hotly but as he continued that lonely look crept back into his eyes even if he didn't realize.

"Brother, I want to help –"

"Stop. Calling. Me. That."

Thor looked at Loki again and sighed. How could he help Loki if he kept pushing him away? He didn't know. So he left.

**M'kay just so you all know that lullaby in the beginning was Katniss Everdeen's lullaby to Rue when she died translated into Norwegian. Thanks for staying with me so far! And please do tell other people of this story and feel free to leave reviews and whatnot!**

**Here's to TheUn-AwesomeMe: Yeah he is pretty slick ;) Thanks for reading this and the other story…that one is coming along rather sluggishly – sorry DX**

**Here's to twinbats: asdgfhjkl; thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

**As always, check the bottom if you left a review! You guys rock!**

**Disclaimer: If I had a cookie for every character I owned in this story I would have...no cookies ;(**

"_See how willingly he leaves you?" _the Other whispered with a voice dripping with sweet poison.

And, unfortunately, Loki did see. He watched as Thor left.

"_It is just like I had told you, you fool god. They left you a long time ago. They told you lies your whole life. What would make you think they aren't lying when they say they care, now?"_

"They _do _care–" Loki argued weakly.

"_They _don't!" The Other hissed, frustrated. _"They left you. They were never truly there for you anyway!"_ Loki flinched as the Other materialized in front of him. _"You have a great opportunity here, fallen god. They have taken you out of the prison. You are closer to the Tesseract than ever. Go. And. Get it."_

"I – I can't. I don't have any magic," Loki said. If Loki wasn't so paralyzed with fear and weak from the months of torture at the hands of the Chitauri he would have killed the Other with his bare hands then and there.

"_Ah yes, they took your magic," _The Other looked at the door and glanced back at Loki, _"You know where it is, do you not?"_

Loki squirmed under the Other's slimy gaze, "No."

A look of sick glee passed over the Other's gaze, _"You don't know."_

"Well, I would imagine it lies in a treasure vault under the palace," Loki said. The Other had yet to do anything horribly twisted to him yet today so he was feeling a little confident. Maybe – maybe the Other was losing his grip.

The Other laughed - it as a grating sound that hurt Loki's ears. Loki unconsciously curled into himself: the only other time he had heard that sound was when the Other was causing him some sort of new and improved kind of pain. _"I have seen…sentiment," _chuckled the Other.

The Other reached out and put his hand on Loki's head as Loki let out a pitiful sound of pain. _"This lady keeps the box from you," _

OoOoOoOoOoO

Odin walked down the hall towards the healing room. He needed to see Loki and – well, he didn't know. He had been and always would be a King first and father second. He had to think of the public first. If letting Loki off easily would cause riots and war threats from Midgard and Jotunheim and who-knew-else Odin would have to punish him. If the court cried for Loki's death and he could not appease them…

Odin steeled himself and pushed open the doors and saw…Loki clutching his head with his back arched and another being grasping Loki by his hair. Loki moaned in pain and the being carelessly smashed his head back against the wall and said, _"They _all _left you. You were never anything but a tool to them and you are nothing but a tool to me now."_

"STOP!" Odin yelled, eye wide with fear for his son. Where was Menglad – and all of his assistants?

The being whipped its head around and gave Loki another harsh shove towards the wall. Loki let out a choked sound and turned away from Odin and the being. "State your name," Odin commanded.

"Odin All-Father," the being hissed instead, "The pleasure is mine," with that the being disappeared with a sharp clap of sick grey magic. Odin could have easily followed him but Loki had started to convulse and scream bloody murder. _Where was Menglad!_

"Menglad!" Odin called as he ran to Loki's side and tried holding him down without hurting him in his frailty. Nobody came and nobody heard him, "Guards!" Odin called louder this time and soon two guards rushed into the room. "Find Menglad," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

One guard shot about the room and the other ran out to the hall to call more guards to look for the healer who should have been at his post, here in the healing room. "Loki, calm yourself! Loki!" Odin said as Loki started thrashing harder than before. Now Odin was just trying to make sure Loki didn't fall off the bed or hurt himself more.

"S-sire!" A guard called from the back of the room near Menglad's study.

"What is it?" Odin called as he held Loki's shoulders to the bed. Loki's face was contorted into an expression of pain and he let out a nearly soundless whimper. His throat had been ripped up from all the yelling he had done already.

When there was no answer Odin looked up to see the guard backing out of the study with blood covering his hands and knees, probably from kneeling in a pool of it. "Guard? What is it!" As soon as the guard was clear of the door Odin caught sight of Menglad, long knives running through his throat, chest, and feet pinning him to a chair.

Odin was stunned into silence at the sight of the healer, dead in his chair. He had served Odin for the better part of his life and now he was gone. Only Loki's agonized scream, voice hoarse from so much sudden use, brought Odin back to the current situation. Odin's hands had slipped off of Loki in his shock and Loki lay curled on his side clutching his head and shaking with violent tremors one after another. "Guard…find another healer, now!"

**EW! I strongly dislike this chapter with a fiery, burning passion! It's so gory…So…I accidentally killed Menglad on you guys, sorry 'bought that!**

**As always, do leave lovely reviews and comments and if you feel like it the button that allows you to 'like' the story or 'follow' it or 'author alert' me is right at the bottom of the page and loves to be used, no joke!**

**So, here's to a guest who left a ginormous review (it was huge):Ok, uh, ehehe thanks for the review! It means a lot to me! And yeah Loki wants loving attention not hate attention…I needed to make it clear that Thor is completely empty in the head… also I wasn't sure what I should do with Odin but how else had Loki gotten so broken if Odin was a loving person? So obviously he was sad that Loki was hurt and all that but Loki was really broken because Odin put ruling before his own kids so I think that's pretty messed up. **

**?The Phantom?**


	10. Chapter 10

**M'kay! Sorry for no update yesterday! I had an emergency six flags of America visit…ehehehe… As always, check the bottom if you left a review! I appreciate you all!**

**Disclaimer: I own **_**nothing**__**!**_

Warbled and distorted sounding Loki heard someone yell, "Never mind! Get – get the Mage!"

His head felt as if it were being split open by a red hot light and his limbs felt as if they were on fire. Loki let out a howl of pain and distantly recognized the strong hands holding him down so he wouldn't hurt himself. His thoughts were occupied with all the worst memories he had, brought to the forefront of his mind by the Other. Flashes of battles gone badly and old punishments flitted through his mind. He remembered letting go of the staff on the bifrost and he remembered exactly what he had been feeling. He _remembered, "No, Loki."_

_No Loki_

_No Loki_

_No Loki._

And then the Other started putting in new memories – convincing memories. It would start as a real memory but would soon morph into something horrible and twisted. He saw Thor beating him to death during a training match and he _felt _it. He remembered simple punishments for his trickery turning into torture sessions and he _lived _that. He remembered going to his mother to impress her with his magic and he saw her turn him away with a disapproving scowl. That shamed stare scathed his very soul. He remembered every time he was turned away and every time he was mocked and scorned. He remembered every time he had been in a prison cell (which regrettably had been more than just a few times) but every time he saw it again, no one would come for him.

"_Don't you see, Loki? It's because you are just a _thing _to them! You will never be loved –"_ The Other hissed but then a clear voice pierced the fog of pain and hate clouding his senses.

"Loki, I'm going to help you. Open your mind to me and I will help you –"

"_LIES! Get away from them and get the Tesseract, boy! You're closer than ever!"_

"Loki, let me help you!" The clear voice was sounding more alarmed but with everything clamoring around his mind Loki couldn't stand it anymore.

"_KILL THEM!"_

"Loki! Let me help –"

Loki couldn't – he couldn't take it. It hurt…IT HURT! His mind was overflowing with pain and thoughts and words that weren't his. His body was abused and tortured and he – he couldn't!

Loki screamed.

Loki screamed and even though he was the one who screamed he flinched at the sound. It was raw and heart wrenching. It was so full of broken emotions that everyone – the Other and the people physically around him – stopped what they were doing and in that small reprieve Loki's mind took advantage of the situation and slipped into a dark and dangerous sleep.

8o0o8o0o8o0o8o0o8

"I can't do anything unless he cooperates, All-Father," The Mage said, "And him being unconscious counts as not cooperating."

"Can the being get to his mind while he is like this?" Odin asked as he looked at the ravaged form of his younger son.

The Mage shook his head, "I don't know what kind of sleep this is; his mind seized the opportunity of the complete absence of commotion – even the briefest moment – and shut itself down completely. I…I think he somehow used magic to put himself into this sleep."

"That's not possible. Frigga holds his magic. Unless he somehow managed to…oh," Odin said as he realized just what Loki had done and what that meant he was capable of.

"What- what? Father, tell me what happened?" Thor demanded as he stood completely clueless to the rules of magic and what the implications meant.

Odin shook his head at Thor as he stood gazing at Loki with a small look of confusion. "It means," the Mage said instead, "that Loki somehow is strong enough to take other peoples' magic from them. Without them ever noticing – it's quite a feat in the magical sense."

"Especially considering his…condition…" Odin added slowly.

"Well, how long will this last?" Thor asked.

"I can't be sure but…I don't think he will awake soon," the Mage said.

"What can we do?" Thor asked, worried.

"We can let him rest. He needs it. Find a healer, anyone to magic him some food and water into his system. Have them work on his health until he wakes up and then maybe he'll be lucid enough to let me help," the Mage said. "In the mean time I suggest we take care of –" he faltered as he looked towards the office where Menglad's body lay.

"Yes, I need to take care of this myself," Odin said sadly as he again thought about all he and Menglad had been through together, "Thor, you need to get some rest, too. You've been neglecting yourself through this whole ordeal."

"Yes, father," Thor said with one last look at his brother's broken form lying listlessly on the now mangled bed.

8o0o8o0o8o0o8o0o8o0o8o0o8

Loki woke with a start. How long had he been asleep? How had he even slept without the Other torturing him?

And then he remembered: he had…he had taken Odin's magic! Well – he more borrowed it than stole it. He hadn't been able to keep it but he definitely had used it. It was a slippery business – taking someone's magic, that is. Because everyone had the ability to use magic he could steal magic from anyone – even non-magic users.

How very convenient!

But now he had to concentrate. The Other had yet to attack him but he knew what he had to do. Since he was now open to magic again he could easily get to the Tesseract and deliver it to the Other. Once he gave it to him maybe, just maybe, he could be free again.

Loki looked around him with his heart set on getting the Tesseract and realized it was sometime during the night. There was a single healer reclining on a chair beside him and he knew there would be multiple guards outside the room and he took a breath so he could prepare himself for the typically sick things he had to do. Well, maybe he could just put the guards and such to sleep instead of killing them. If the Other wanted something from him he was going to do it his way. He was already drowning in the blood of the ones he had killed before.

So, Loki reached out and grabbed the healers' magic and used it to put her into an even deeper sleep, one that she would not be disturbed for a while. Then he worked on heaving himself out of the bed. He would admit it, it was hard and here is where he made his first mistake: as he stepped out of the bed his legs refused to work and he crashed to the floor in a heap of limbs and a groan. The healer hadn't budged but surely the guards had heard so Loki once again took a hold of the healers' magic and fed his body the energy necessary to teleport himself to the treasure vaults.

The trip was exhausting and he slumped to the ground once again as he realized that just the magic of the simple healer hadn't been strong enough to transport him here and he had had to tap into the guards magic as well. He leaned his head against the stone wall again and took another breath. He needed someone's magic – anyone's. He reached out with his mind and started feeding himself energy from the source and he felt immediately better.

The Tesseract sat right in front of him and it was almost nothing to take more magic from his new source and reach right into the case holding the Tesseract and store it into a fold in space where he could always access it. His new magic source hadn't even wavered yet and as he turned around to walk out of the room the doors to the vault slammed open.

Thor stood in the doorway with a broken expression on his face, "Loki!" he yelled. And then Loki realized why the magic-energy hadn't faded yet: he had been taking magic-energy from the practically tireless thunder god himself.

"I can't stay here, Thor," Loki chided gently as he transported himself away.

But he looked back: he knew who held his magic. Why not get it?

**M'kay so yesshhh…. Ummm…. I don't have much to say about this chapter. Well, thanks for all the reviews and stuff! Keep spreading the word! Feel the wonderful freedom to review, 'like', or author alert me! It would be rather splendid of you all! Tell all your friends and stuff!**

**Here's to TheUn-AwesomeMe: Ok, the deal with the "This lady" thing was that he was kind of sort of giving Loki an image-vision of Frigga (his mother) holding the box soooo yeah. That's the boc that Frigga is holding in the first chapter and chapter eight when she drops the box so yesss. Thanks for the review(s!)!**

**Here's to JuneIsAMonth18: ehehehe thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate it and I'll see what I can do!**

**I Am THE Phantom**


	11. Chapter 11

**M'kay so I'm just warning you guys that I probably won't get a chapter in tomorrow because life so there XD Anyways, I do appreciate you all very much! Feel free to tell friends and review me and tell me what's up and what you think… I do encourage you to 'favorite' this story and all that it makes me happy! Ehehehe, thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I own **_**nothing!**_

Loki walked down the hall shrouded in the shadows and footsteps masked with the magic of Thor, who he was still stealing energy from. This was a useful trick, indeed. Thor seemed to be a never ending supply of energy…so far, that is. Thor had always been like that: full of energy, burning bright with his verve. He never tired of his reckless adventures and endeavors. He never saw the dangers or the consequences – which usually left Loki to saving him, covering for him, or even getting in trouble for him.

But Loki wouldn't live in the past anymore. Once he gave the Chitauri the Tesseract he would leave. He would go to Midgard, transform into a different person so he wouldn't be recognized, and start anew. The humans there seemed to live so freely: they spent their lives running around and chasing dreams with their endless vitality. Until they died, that is. That seemed like it could potentially be a fun part of his life there: he would fake his death every time a lifetime had passed by and then he would sit in on his own funeral. How very amusing that would be.

He would make it so Heimdall couldn't see him and Thor couldn't find him. Nothing would be there to remind him of this life. He. Would. Start. New.

Loki heard shouts as the guards started scrambling about when they realized he had escaped – again – and he smiled. He loved chaos.

Loki grinned to himself all the way to Frigga's private chambers where she was undoubtedly still asleep. But as he stood there and looked at the double doors his grin fell. Loki shook himself and tested the doors. Sure enough; they were locked. Loki again drew from the magic-energy well that was Thor and magicked the doors open. The rooms were completely dark and Loki started rifling through Frigga's things trying not to disturb things too much. He was already drowning in a sea of guilt for breaking into dear Frigga's room and he didn't want to add breaking something to that guilt.

Suddenly something crashed to the floor and Loki flinched so hard that his whole body jerked a foot away from the noise.

Lights flooded the room and Frigga sat up and looked straight at Loki. "Loki!" She breathed, surprised.

Loki died inwardly at what he was about to do but he steeled himself and grabbed Frigga by the shoulders, "Where is my magic?"

"LOKI!" Frigga exclaimed loudly. Despite her situation she still somehow managed to level a scathing motherly glare on Loki.

"Mothe-" Loki said but cut himself off and started again, "I need my magic."

"Loki either you forcefully take it from me or you leave," Frigga said in a controlled but obviously angry voice.

Loki readied a reply but he couldn't. He would never be able to hurt Frigga. Despite what the Other had forced into his mind he couldn't hate Frigga and he knew that he never would.

Footsteps and shouts started echoing down the hallway and both Loki and Frigga glanced at the door, worried. "Mother I – I can't," Loki said.

Loki stepped back, frustrated with himself and angry with Frigga. He drew on Frigga and Thor's magic-energy and teleported himself away.

Frigga watched as Loki again disappeared. It wrenched at her heart and made her eyes sting with unshed tears.

"Majesty!" A guard shouted as he burst into her quarters.

"It's quite alright. Loki is gone," Frigga said as she choked back the tears that begged to overflow. She had never shown weakness in front of anyone of the court and never would.

"Frigga!" Odin said as he pushed past the guard still standing in her doorway. How very disjointed everyone seems tonight, Frigga though.

"I'm quite alright," Frigga said as she took a breath. Odin came and stood by her bed and took her hand. "I really am fine, I would, though, appreciate a bit of privacy."

"Of course," Odin said. "Did Loki take…?" he added as an afterthought.

"Of course not, dear. Go, I'm fine," Frigga insisted.

She watched as everyone left her to it and as soon as she couldn't hear their footsteps anymore, she cried. How had this happened? How had that small, gentle child turned out this way?

She remembered every second she ever spent with Loki and while he had been a quiet child she never thought this would happen.

Frigga though back to some of her favorite memories with a new light and realized why.

Once, Thor and Loki had gone out on an adventure that had turned decidedly south rather quickly and when asked about the event Thor begged and cried and said it was an accident while Loki stood impassive until he saw his brothers' tears and then said, "I did it. I forced Thor to come with." Frigga knew that it really had been Thor's fault but she had been proud of her son for trying to protect Thor. But now as she looked back she realized that times like those, where Thor listlessly let Loki take the blame and punishment, were one of the many good reasons Loki had lashed out so.

Another time Thor had lost mjolnir and Loki, always the trickster, was immediately blamed. They hadn't known it at the time but Loki had had nothing to do with it. Loki had fought to retrieve it so he could prove himself the better person, so he could protect Thor and had ended up with his mouth sewn shut for a whole year by the dwarves who had taken the hammer. No one had vouched for Loki and no one had apologized for accusing him of such treachery. Loki was forever mentally scarred after that. Yet another reason.

Soon, as Loki grew older, the court had taken to blaming Loki and coming up with cruel and typically grotesque punishments for him to undergo for something he usually had not had anything to do with. Odin had never stopped them. Not once. Odin always had put ruling above parenting and the court could overrule him, dethrone him, and they always got what they wanted. Loki had been tortured, silenced, and paid no mind for his whole life.

Frigga let out a broken sob as she realized why Loki was the way he was now. She now understood why he had jumped off the bifrost and she now understood why he had allegedly – well, not allegedly anymore – tried to kill himself. He had reason but it still didn't make what he had done right.

But how did one punish someone who was so broken? There had never been anything for Loki here.

**Okay, just so ya'll know I'm going to be finishing this story in the next two or three chapters…so… yeah.**

**I'll reply to comments on the next chapter but is being a butt right now and I can't see them…**

**The Phantom**


	12. Chapter 12

**M'kay, so we are drawing near the close, here and I would just like to thank you all for sticking with me through all this! The next chapter will be the last, I'm sad to say. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have!**

**Disclaimer: I own **_**nothing!**_

Loki looked up at the giant, black tower. Really it looked like a black mountain pockmarked with tunnels and craters. The whole planet looked broken and felt dangerous, desolate.

Loki shivered; the last time he had been here he had been unmade – completely broken. They tortured him in every way they could: they tortured his body but they mostly attacked his mind. They attacked his mind until he could barely think for himself anymore. Then, it was a perfect opportunity for the Other to forge the connection between their minds and to rebuild Loki in whichever way he so pleased. He slowly rebuilt his mind and bent it to the Other's will and there was nothing Loki could do.

There was nothing he so despised more than being controlled by someone else and so, during his incarceration, he began the painful process of pulling away from the Other. He had gotten far and he could think for himself now but he couldn't kick the Other out of his mind completely.

That's what he would ask for in return for the Tesseract. He would demand the release of his mind ad he would finally – finally! – be free again.

With his mind made up Loki strode towards the dark mountain to be greeted by two Chitauri guards.

8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8

"How can we control him now that he can use anyone's magic?" Odin wondered, frustrated and slightly still amazed that Loki could do that.

"I think," the Mage said slowly as his ancient gaze rested on Odin as he sat, exhausted on his throne, "that Loki is in need of help now, more than ever."

"My brother is in danger?" Thor exclaimed.

"He might be…" Odin admitted.

"It's possible that he stole the Tesseract as some sort of bartering item," the Mage said. "He thinks he can trade the Tesseract for his freedom from them."

"We must go and get him!" Thor said.

"Wait – do we know where he is?" Odin asked before Thor could start sprinting for the newly repaired bifrost.

"He's…" Thor started. He paused, troubled, but suddenly it dawned on him, "He's on the Chitauri's planet! They helped him when he attacked Midgard." It all connected now: after Loki had fallen off the bifrost he had obviously either landed or been abducted to the planet of the Chitauri. There, they had convinced him to attack Midgard and that's when they forged the connection with his mind.

"We'll leave immediately," Odin said.

"Odin…" Frigga said as she watched her husband move about their chambers and collect his choice weapons – Gungnir and a elven dagger.

"Yes, my Queen?" Odin replied. Frigga smiled at the name.

"What…are your plans," she paused and looked down at her hands, "as far as Loki?" She had been up the rest of the night and most of the day worrying about it. Loki needed help, love, and care not anymore punishment. He needed someone to prove that he was loved, too.

Odin sighed and turned towards Frigga, "He's a criminal, Frigga."

"He's your son!" She exclaimed. "How can you be so callous about this?"

"Frigga, I can't put him above the public. If one of the court had done anything remotely as heinous as Loki has they would have been put to death. I'm already alleviating most of the punishment. I can't put him above the court any longer," Odin said firmly.

"Why do you think he chose to fall off the bifrost, Odin?" Frigga challenged.

"No –"

"It was because you never treated him as your son! He may be a citizen, Odin, but he's also your son!" Frigga cried. "He _needs _love!"

"I won't coddle him because he thinks I ignored him as a child," Odin shook his head.

"But you did!" Frigga wailed. "We all did," she sobbed.

Odin shook his head again and stormed out of the room, leaving Frigga to weep over their mistakes.

8oOo8oOooOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8

Odin, Thor, the Mage, and one battalion of Asgardian soldiers convened at the Bifrost, battle ready and thirsting for the blood of the Chitauri.

"Heimdall, we need passage to the planet of the Chitauri," Odin said.

Heimdall nodded and said, "Remember, if your return poses a threat to Asgard the Bifrost will remain closed."

Thor, the Mage, and Odin nodded and stepped through –

Traveling through the bifrost is a lost like taking a step into empty air: your stomach drops, your heart races, and unless you're used to traveling via bifrost the impact of the landing jars you painfully.

The battalion stood at attention as the Mage looked around, "What a curious planet… It seems…dead," he said as he lifted an eyebrow at the sight before him. It was rather pitiful looking. The sky was black and cloudy and the ground and everything surrounding the group looked as if it had been burnt to a crisp. It was completely silent and there seemed to be no living movement anywhere near them.

"Press on, then! My brother is in need of help!" Thor declared as he started leading the battalion out of the crater they had landed in to get a better look at where they were.

Trekking up the side of the crater proved more difficult that it had originally seemed and, after about an hour and a half they had managed to get everyone out of the crater with the help of the Mages' and Odins' magic. What they saw when they had finally emerged from the crater was slightly depressing: the whole land was pockmarked with craters and everything was black, smoking, and reeking of death. In the distance, barely visible as it was the same color as the sky above and ground below was a giant mountain-esque form that looked just as dead and broken as the rest of the land. Because there were no other landforms anywhere to be seen they pushed on towards the desolate mountain.

"When we find Loki someone will have to kill the being connected to his mind and only then can I hope to sever the connection completely. I need space to do it, though, and I'll need Loki to be with me. I can't afford to have any distractions," the Mage said seriously as they trudged towards the mountainous form.

"I'll set ten soldiers around you to keep any distractions away," Odin supplied helpfully.

"I get that foul being controlling Loki," Thor growled.

Odin stopped, "He's not being controlled, Thor, he's still responsible for his actions."

Thor, always the golden son, didn't argue but a frown set itself heavily upon his face.

Loki was, again, stuck in a cell. The Chitauri, it seemed, either didn't have the ability to use magic or they knew how to guard it because Loki could not use it for himself. So, he was again, stuck, chained, and being broken all apart again.

Two Chitauri soldiers roughly picked him up and shoved him into the corner, facing the wall, and chained him there. They tore off his shirt and, without any preamble, started whipping him with a spiked whip.

"Loki, how good of you to come back to us!" The Other exclaimed with false cheeriness. "Did you miss your old friend?" He asked, referring to the whip. It had been used on him many times when he had first come here. It was one of the more gentle weapons, as it were, and Loki was just grateful they hadn't started with skinning him right away

A particularly vicious swipe across his back brought out a small groan of pain and the Other laughed, "Surely you remember our other toys! This is nothing but a reminder,"

Loki inwardly grimaced. So easily he was broken: they wanted him to feel lucky about the whipping, not outraged, not burning with righteous anger, but lucky that they weren't doing anything worse. How easily he was reverted back into their mewling servant.

Sometime later, Loki wasn't sure as the pain made time bend and blur before him and he didn't know how long his back had been turned into shreds, the door to the torture chamber slammed open and the hissing and clacking of the Chitauri language filled the room with angry sounding screeches and clicks.

Then the Other grabbed Loki, heedless to his injuries, by the shoulders and spun him around to face him, "You lead them here, didn't you? You worthless god!" The Other accented the last three angry words with a ring-fingered punch to his face.

Loki slid to the floor and covered his face. He couldn't believe he actually thought he would get away from them. The other kicked him in the ribs with two solid thumps which were immediately followed by sickening crunches as his ribs cracked under the abuse and Loki started coughing up blood and gasping for mercy.

Loki dimly heard the Chitauri and the Other leave the room but he didn't have any energy to do anything but to curl in on himself and tuck himself as far into the corner as possible.

Soon he was surrounded with his own blood and the hot stickiness of it clung to his mouth and back and what remained of his clothes. He didn't know how long it had been since the Other had left him here to most likely die and he had been floating closer and closer to going to sleep, serenaded by sounds of…a fight? Screams and clashes of metal to metal and Loki…Loki was too tired to care anymore. He was resigned to his fate that he would most likely be taken prisoner by another cruel race and then tortured with new and interesting ways by whoever was fighting the Chitauri now.

So when the door to his torture chamber exploded inward with a persimmon blast of magic he barely flinched. His eyes were half-closed and sticky with his own blood and he just didn't care anymore. He couldn't see anything until a pair of worn boots stopped right in front of his face, blood splashing onto the old leather. Hands grasped his shoulders and heaved him upward and then locked onto his face.

"LOKI!" It seemed as if the voice was yelling through a amplifier right into his ear and Loki flinched away from the noise…

8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8

"Loki!" The Mage said as he gently shook Loki. He needed Loki to be alive otherwise this whole endeavor would be quite useless.

He had entered the room and had been about to run back out to check other rooms before he spotted the broken pile of limbs that was Loki. He was practically swimming in his own blood and his back had virtually no skin remaining. Black bruises were already flowering across his chest and when the Mage put a hand to the bruises he felt at least four shattered ribs and as he watched Loki cough up blood he realized he had also punctured a lung rather successfully. On Loki's face there was also a large bruise swelling up with three scratches running right through the bruise.

"Loki," the Mage tried again. This time Loki flinched away from the Mage so hard he slammed into the wall behind him, consequently rubbing his abused back against the stone and eliciting a cry of pain.

"MAGE!" the Mage heard distantly as Thor ran through the halls.

"Thor, come here," the Mage called, exasperated.

Thor burst into the room and took one look at Loki and knelt down in the growing pool of blood and took Loki's hand. "Help him. HELP HIM!"

"Thor I need to know if you killed that being," the Mage said slowly. Talking to Thor really was like talking to a hyper-active child.

"I…yes, he's gone…" Thor said distractedly as he watched his brothers' slow rise and fall of his chest.

"Then I can help him," the Mage said as he started laying Loki on the ground. A bright persimmon glow sparked off the Mages' fingers and Loki's whole body alit with the healing light of the Mages' magic.

8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8oOo8

Odin looked around him. All the Chitauri had fallen and the Mage had sent a soldier to tell him they had Loki. Odin had found the Tesseract easily enough and before Thor could kill the being that was controlling Loki – he seemed to be the leader of the Chitauri – he took the Tesseract and said, "Your race is forever condemned," and magicked the Tesseract back to Heimdall. He would safely put it in the vaults and guard it until they returned. Now he had to see Loki

**Okay, whoa! That was a weeeiiirrrddd chapter! But now it's done, yay! Ok, so please, please, please, please review and favorite and follow and stuff! The next chapter will be the last and then, maybe in a few weeks, I'll post a sequel which will be amazing but maybe not…It depends on you!  
I do so appreciate you all so much!**

**The Phantom**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok, ****get ready guys this is the last chapter! Hold on to your socks and review like crazy because I might… well, I'll tell you at the bottom of the page! Ehehehe, I'm evil ;) Thanks for reading and favorite-ing and following and reviewing! I hope you guys like this ending because when I thought of it I was exceedingly satisfied with it so I hope you guys feel the same way!**

**Disclaimer: I own **_**nothing!**_

Loki sat docilely in a cell – a new one, not the underground one, in the palace – and rested his head against the wall. When he had been found in the Chitauri's torture chamber – Loki shuddered just thinking about it - he had been found, thankfully, by the Mage and his brother Thor. No one would ever understand how very grateful he was that they had come for him, even with the intentions of just throwing him in another cell. At least he wasn't being tortured and his mind was free and unclouded to think on its own again. That had been the worst part for him: not having his mind to himself. Because he was never the strongest person in Asgard he had to learn to rely on other things like wit and knowledge. He had become one of the smartest in all the land and to have that taken away was like…the end.

But Loki still couldn't stay here. He was not happy here. The court and the public weren't happy with him here. The only people happy he had returned were his mother and possibly Thor – the empty-headed fool. Not that he didn't appreciate what Thor had done, but really, Thor always had been and always would be a little too naïve.

And anyway, they couldn't contain him anymore. The only reason he stayed was because he hadn't had the opportunity to retrieve his magic. Using others' magic is fine and it works just fine but without his magic it was like walking around without an arm or a leg. He had lost something very important when they had taken that away. He needed it – it was the last thing he needed before he could be himself again – well, not himself: a changed version of himself. Looking back, Loki really did believe that although it had all been awful and he had probably been literally insane throughout the whole ordeal he had changed for the better. Getting his magic back was just the last piece of the puzzle that helped him crawl back to complete sanity.

Loki sighed, Thor would be hurt when he left without saying goodbye. He wouldn't come back – well, not for a very, very, _very _long time, at least – and he would make sure that he wouldn't have any reminders of this life. He would cloak himself from Heimdall so he could not be found and he would change his name. He would live with the humans and find a new way of life. He couldn't live here anymore. Maybe…maybe after a while – a long while – he would visit Thor, to ease his worries that Loki knew he would have.

Quite ironically enough heavy footsteps that could only belong to Thor echoed through the hall as he walked towards Loki's cell. Sure enough, Loki's hearing proved excellent once again when Thor came into view. "Hello, brother," Loki said. Thor's face brightened at the name and Loki thought, _A little kindness can't hurt before I leave without saying._

"Brother!" Thor said in a gush of pent up breath, probably anxiety about seeing Loki. "I…I have missed you, Loki."

Loki, even though he wasn't looking for havoc anymore he still was the best liar in all the realms, hid his small twinge of regret for what he would have to do. "I have missed you, too."

Thor stood and just looked at Loki for a while before a look of sadness flitted across his face. Unlike Loki, Thor could never hide his emotions. "I…Your trial is to be held in one week."

Loki's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Is that what you're here for, Thor; to tell me that I am still to be punished?" Thor paled, "I already knew that, Thor. It's alright."

Thor looked away and put his hand behind his back, nervous tics and Loki stood up and walked to the bars. He reached through the bars and grabbed Thor's arm, "It really is ok, Thor, I understand."

"You don't understand, Loki. They…I think the punishment is to be death, Loki," Thor said as he stood with Loki's hand on his arm, trying hard not to cry.

Loki reached up and put his hand on Thor's shoulder and kept it there till Thor looked at him, "I know that, Thor, and…it really is ok." Loki couldn't help but wonder if Thor would be angry when he left or happy that he was at least alive.

"How can you say that?" Thor asked. "It wouldn't be ok! It wouldn't be ok for me! Or for our mother or father –"

"Oh, I think it would be ok with him, Thor," Loki said as his hand slipped off Thor's shoulder. His voice held a small trace of malice now, no matter how much he promised himself that this would be a good last conversation between them whether Thor knew it or not.

Thor shook his head, "I have to go, Loki," he said as he backed back down the hall.

Loki stayed silent but inside he was screaming, _Come back! Tell me you love me, just one more time! We won't have any more time…_

Loki grabbed the bars and rested his head against the cold metal as he tried to control himself. What a silly thing to be sad about. He knew Thor loved him – in his own way – but he needed to hear it one more time, just once more before he left.

Loki went and sat on the cot, leaning against the wall and dozed off into a small catnap as he waited for the dead of night, when it would be easiest for him to get his magic back. He was leaving, for sure.

Loki woke with a start – he had heard something… Someone was coming to his cell. At this time? Who would come this late at night?

Soon, dear Frigga came into view. "Loki," she called softly.

Loki stood and walked to the bars. If there was anyone, anyone Loki could tell he was leaving, it would be Frigga. Although Frigga was the one holding his magic she was the only one who would understand, "Mother," he said just as softly.

"Loki, you have to leave," she said. From behind her back she took the box containing his magic. "I can't see you put to death and…and I have to do right be you, at least this time, do you see?" She asked softly.

"They will know you gave me my magic," Loki said even as he took the box from her hands. "I could make it look like I stole it from you," he said.

Frigga shook her head, "That will only get you in more trouble. You have to leave this realm. You can't stay here and you can't let Heimdall see you." Everything he had already been thinking. Perhaps his mother had rubbed off on him more than either of them realized.

Loki nodded, regretfully; this would get Frigga in trouble. He looked down at the box and broke the seal using a guards magic. His magic flew back into him like an ocean of beautiful emerald light. It filled him and made him whole again. He laughed happily at having his magic back. He magicked himself through the cell bars and embraced his mother. "I love you, but…I won't see you for a long time."

Frigga nodded and leaned into the hug, "I love you so much, Loki. Be safe, and hurry…I will miss you."

Loki nodded and teleported away.

Odin watched from the stairs as Frigga handed Loki his magic. He watched as the two embraced and Loki teleported away. He thought about going after Loki but what Frigga had said about them neglecting Loki and Loki just needing love…he let him go. Just this once.

Loki walked into a small diner somewhere in North America and sat down at the bar. He had transformed his Asgardian clothes into black denim pants and a light coat to ward off the relative chill. As he sat at the bar a woman sat next to him. She had long, straight, brown hair that swung past her elbows and looked slightly windswept. She looked cold and immediately ordered a coffee – whatever that may be and glanced at Loki from the corner of her eye.

"Excuse me, I'm afraid I'm a little lost…Can you tell me where I am?" Loki asked.

"Oh, sure," the woman replied, "We're in Oswego, New York. I'm Lillian, by the way."

"Mark," Loki said as he shook her hand.

**OH MY GOSH ISN'T IT JUST PERFECT? So I just want to clarify a few things in case you guys are confused: 1. Loki changed his name to Mark because he didn't want to be recognized as destroyer Loki so that's what happened there…**

**2. I actually have no problem with Odin I just needed him to be that way for this story to work…I actually kind of felt bad for making him such a bully. Luckily he ended up wrapping up the ending quite nicely!**

**3. I thank you guys so much for sticking with me. This is the end and please do review and tell me your over-all thoughts on the whole story! Also, I want you guys to vote: I have a sequel in mind but I'm going to take a break for a little bit before I start writing it. That is, if you guys want a sequel, otherwise I won't bother! I do so appreciate you all!**

**The Phantom**


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